


a unique spark of interest

by Orange_Coyote



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Baby Peter Parker, Christmas, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Holidays, Humor, M/M, Meet-Cute, Parent Tony Stark, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Short One Shot, Snow, Ugly Holiday Sweaters, maybe i'll add to this verse someday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-18 03:27:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28860291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orange_Coyote/pseuds/Orange_Coyote
Summary: Steve and Bucky make their way to the annual Christmas dinner put on by their friend Sam, but this year a new person joins their little group. Steve doesn't make the best first impression, but he hopes he more than makes up for it in the long run.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 5
Kudos: 34
Collections: POTS (18+) Stony Stocking 2020





	a unique spark of interest

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fiftyshadesofstony](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fiftyshadesofstony/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by [fiftyshadesofstony](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fiftyshadesofstony/pseuds/fiftyshadesofstony) in the [stony_stocking_2020](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/stony_stocking_2020) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> 1) Fiftyshadesofstony (fiftyshadesofstony#0636)  
> 2) Short Prompts  
> \- Snow day fun  
> \- Baby Peter’s first Christmas  
> \- Holiday meet cute  
> I took the liberty of melding these three short prompts into a fluffy mess. Hope you enjoy!  
> Title stolen from a quote:  
> "With every falling flake, a unique spark of interest falls from Heaven." - P. Miller

Steve paced the room restlessly, futilely glancing at his wrist watch as if he could stop time with mere willpower alone. He plucked at the itchy wool of his bright red santa sweater, the white pom-pom at the collar that topped off the character’s hat nearly tickling his chin.

“Bucky, will you please hurry up? I’d rather keep my manhood and if we’re any later than we already are, either Sam or Rhodey would be more than happy to relieve me of it.”

Bucky peeked around the corner, his head halfway through the neck hole of his puce green sweater bedecked with light up reindeer antlers. “Relax, Stevie. They love us too much to cut off our dicks.”

“Language!”

Bucky stepped fully into the room, shoving his arms carelessly through his sweater sleeves. He chuckled at the look of betrayal upon his best friend’s face. “Okay, okay. Let’s go then.”

They made their way to the other side of town, hoping they’d be able to find a parking space outside of the townhouse their friend Sam shared with one of his coworkers in a local gated community. Luckily for them, there was one lone space remaining upon their arrival, right beside a dark red Range Rover decked with gold accents.

Bucky showed his appreciation for the vehicle once they had disembarked, walking toward it and letting out a wolf whistle. “I can see my reflection in the paint! This baby is a looker.”

Steve rolled his eyes, long accustomed to Bucky’s admiration for luxury cars. He followed his friend’s path, boots crunching in the tightly packed snow that had frozen over from a storm passing through a few days prior. Christmas itself wouldn’t bring any fresh snow, but Steve was grateful that the ground was still blanketed in white regardless.

Quietly, he crouched down and dug his hands into the snow. He packed it into a decently sized snowball and aimed it at Bucky’s back. A smile took over his features as he called, “Hey, Buck?”

Bucky turned enough to have his head over his shoulder. “Yeah?”

“On your left!”

Just as the snowball left his hand, Steve had the instinctual feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong. His intuition proved right when, as Bucky jumped out of the trajectory of the snowball, a man Steve had never met walked out the door of Sam’s place. Steve tried to warn the man to move, but his voice stuck in his throat. Within the span of seconds, the man was on his back in the snow, one hand placed gingerly against his forehead.

An eternity later -- though Steve was sure it was merely a blink of an eye -- the man blinked and groaned. The pained noise broke Steve from his trance and he rushed to the man’s side, an apology spilling from his lips before he’d even kneeled on the ground to reach out to help the man into a sitting position. He looked over his shoulder to tell Bucky to grab some ice, but he was already gone. Assumedly to let Sam know what had happened, Steve hoped.

He returned his attention to the man beside him, his heart beating fast behind his ribs. He forced himself to take a few deep breaths because having an asthma attack now wouldn’t do anyone any good. Then he caught the other man’s gaze and… wow. The man’s dark brown eyes were framed by some of the longest lashes Steve had ever seen.

“I’m so sorry,” Steve said again, wringing his hands. His gloves felt too thin, still damp from snow, and he fought a shiver. “If it helps, I wasn’t aiming for you.”

The man scoffed, but Steve could see a twitch of his lips that implied laughter more than derision. “If it helps, that doesn’t make it hurt any less.”

“You’re right,” Steve replied. “I take full responsibility. Is there anything I could do for you? A hot drink maybe? Or some dry clothes?”

The man squinted, his eyebrows raising at the same time. “Are you an angel? Am I dead?”

Steve flushed, cursing his fair complexion and traitorous skin. “Uh, no. I’m Steve.”

“Nice to meet you, Steve. I think you’re the only person I’ve ever known to treat hitting someone with a snowball as a life debt.”

“I’m sorry, I just feel terrible about it. I’ll back off.” Steve rose to his feet, realizing belatedly that he had crowded into the other man’s space without so much as asking. “Can I help you inside at least? You should probably let Nat take a look, just to make sure there won’t be any swelling.”

“Hold on a second,” the man said. “Now, I never said I wouldn’t accept your offer. A hot drink and some dry clothes sounds heavenly right about now. And if you’re the one giving them to me, I’m not going to complain.”

Steve felt his cheeks heat up once more. “Right. Yeah, I’m sure Sam has some spare clothes that’ll fit you.” Steve gestured at himself with a wry grin. “I’m afraid any of my stuff would be a bit too small.”

“Whatever you say, hot stuff. Help a man out, would you? I don’t think I can feel my tailbone.”

Steve reached out a hand and helped to haul the other man to his feet, dusting off the excess snow still lingering on his jacket and jeans. The gesture was so second nature that Steve didn’t even realize he was doing it until the other man laughed softly.

“My name is Tony,” he told Steve. “I feel like you should know that if you’re gonna keep mother henning me.”

“Sorry,” Steve said. “Habit. I used to help out at the orphanage when I was younger and kids have an uncanny ability for getting messy.”

“Don’t I know it,” Tony replied. “My kid’s not even a year old yet, so I know I have a lot to look forward to in that regard.”

Steve filed away the fact that the man was a father to an infant as they entered the house together. Bucky stood at the doorway, giving Steve a knowing look that did nothing for the flush of heat still lingering in Steve’s cheeks. He couldn’t have a crush on a man he’d literally just met, he just couldn’t.

Sam came into the room next, Natasha hot on his heels. James Rhodes, the man Sam co-leased the home with, followed behind. Steve didn’t know Rhodes well, beyond that the man had served in the US Air Force and wasn’t home all that much since his career took him out of the country more often than not.

Rhodes went straight to Tony, his eyes wide and his mouth set in a tight line. Steve knew the combination well from years of growing up under his mother’s watchful eye: worry and concern marred by affectionate annoyance.

“Tones, you promised you’d be careful. What did you do now?”

“Rhodey bear! Do you truly think so little of me?” Tony placed his free hand over his heart, a long suffering sigh leaving his lips. “I thought what we had was special.”

The colonel moved Tony’s hand from his forehead and inspected the spot for himself, seemingly content that no grave damage had been wrought. The ease and comfort between the two was palpable even across the room and Steve wondered how long they’d known one another.

"Alright, I'll pretend I believe you this time." Rhodes shook his head, but the smile on his face undermined any real scolding.

"It was all Steve, I swear!"

Steve shrugged when Rhodes pinned him with his gaze. "Yeah, it was. But it was an accident!"

"Children," the man scoffed. "You two are made for each other."

Bucky chose that moment to bump into Steve's side, a smug grin on his face. Steve squinted at him, part of their telepathic communication that had developed over the years: _shut up, jerk._

"As lovely as this is," Sam said from the doorway to the kitchen, "food's done. We should probably eat it before it gets cold and gross."

Everyone followed Sam into the kitchen. Steve chuckled as Bucky and Sam immediately started pushing each other, trying to be the first to fill their plate. The island counter was covered in various dishes from various cuisines: mashed sweet potatoes and green bean casserole, roasted chicken and red rice, chow mein and kimchi, tofu soup and vegan macaroni and cheese, and of course the more traditional honey glazed ham and stuffed turkey. There were even a couple dishes Steve didn't recognize, so he assumed they must have been Tony's contributions to the potluck.

Soft cooing sounds from the other room caught Steve's attention and he found himself following them to discover the source of the noise, leaving his raucous group of friends behind.

He tiptoed back into the front room, wary of disrupting whatever he might see. And there, sitting in one of the recliners by the bay windows, was Tony cradling a baby in his arms. The infant was swathed in a navy blue blanket, a poof of light brown hair visible atop their head. Steve nearly melted entirely when Tony started to softly speak with the child.

"Finally decided to wake up from your nap, Petey? Wanted to rejoin the land of the living once the food was ready?" Tony softly brushed his fingers across the baby's forehead, smiling when the little eyes blinked sleepily back up at him. "You're lucky you're cute, otherwise I'd be going crazy taking care of you. I love you so much, kiddo. And someday you're gonna be able to do all sorts of cool experiments with me and I'll never get tired of pulling your hands away from the soldering iron until you're actually old enough to use it. I can't wait to build things with you."

Steve could feel a tear pushing against his eyelid as he closed his eyes, so moved by the touching moment of pure adoration. Boy howdy did he miss his mom right now.

"Oh, hey, Steve. Didn't see you there."

Steve opened his eyes slowly, feeling like he'd just interrupted a moment never meant to be seen. "Uh, yeah, sorry. Just heard something from the kitchen and wanted to make sure everything was okay."

"We're good," Tony replied. "Wanna meet Peter?"

"Uh, yeah, sure. If that's okay."

He stepped fully into the room, keeping his steps extra quiet to avoid startling the baby. Up close he learned that Peter had brown eyes like his father, and the same upward tilt to their mouth when they smiled. "They're cute as a button," Steve said after a moment.

"Yeah, he's the center of my universe," Tony replied. And with the reverence in his voice, Steve could tell instantly just how true that was. "Never pegged myself as the fatherly type, to be honest. Can't say I regret it."

"I'm sure you're a great dad, Tony."

"Thanks." Tony rose to his feet. "Time to eat. I gotta get something in me before the kid realizes he's hungry too."

"I'll make you a plate," Steve offered. "Take a load off and let me pay off some of that life debt."

"You're a rare one, Steve," Tony said teasingly, "but sure. Who am I to deny a man paying off a debt."

"How're you feeling, by the way? Anything still hurt?"

"I'm feeling good now, thanks." Rhodes called out to Tony as the man seemed on the precipice of saying something else, but instead he closed his mouth to smile warmly at Steve. "That's my cue to join the circus. See you in a bit."

Their ragtag bunch spent the rest of the night with bouts of laughter, a terrible game of charades, and a mini marathon of holiday movies. Steve kept being drawn to Tony time and time again, so when everyone settled in for the movies and Steve found himself sharing the loveseat with Tony and a dozing baby, he let himself roll with it and not think too much about how the night had turned out.

He had shown up at Sam's house with the intention of sharing the holiday with his family of his own making, and would be leaving with the possibility of adding two more people to that list. And if he was really lucky, maybe this crush could lead to something more.


End file.
